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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cell — a phone
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. club — a group
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. branch — a division
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. wound — an injury
  18. club — for golf
  19. rush — hurry
  20. track — to keep track
  21. track — a path
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. club — for dancing
  24. track — a song

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com